Convicted killer Jodi Arias pauses for a moment during an interview at the Maricopa County Estrella Jail on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Phoenix. Arias was convicted recently of killing her former boyfriend Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home back in 2008, made a plea in court Tuesday for life in prison, instead of execution, saying she can contribute to society if allowed to live. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) less

Convicted killer Jodi Arias pauses for a moment during an interview at the Maricopa County Estrella Jail on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Phoenix. Arias was convicted recently of killing her former boyfriend ... more

Photo: Ross D. Franklin, STF

'Dirty Little Secret' brings Jodi Arias' story to the small screen

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Are you suffering from withdrawal now that HLN has reduced its saturation coverage of the Jodi Arias murder case and turned its focus instead on the George Zimmerman trial?

It would be very easy to get all puffed up and indignant about the film's low quality, the script's unintentional howlers and the unseemliness of rushing the Arias film onto the small screen only weeks after Arias was found guilty of killing lover Travis Alexander in 2008.

The jury was solidly convinced she intentionally stabbed him 27 times and fired a bullet into his head.

Arias claimed self-defense.

But the Arias film is what Lifetime does, and it does it fairly well. Say what you will about its contemporary TV versions of bodice-rippers and penny dreadfuls, but Lifetime knows its audience, perhaps much better than some of the more respected networks do.

Nancy Grace might know better than I about the accuracy of "Dirty Little Secret," but just looking at it without the benefit of HLN addiction, the film doesn't always make sense.

Yes, Arias (Tania Raymonde, "Lost"), comes off as a narcissistic, sexually manipulative psycho, but because we never get a convincing take on Alexander (Jesse Lee Soffer, "The Mob Doctor"), the film is confusing.

Arias and Alexander meet when he's giving a motivational talk.

She's so taken with him, she follows him into the men's room. It takes a while for their relationship to get physical, in part because Alexander is a practicing Mormon and tries to adhere to the teachings of his church.

Arias turns on the sexual charm and Alexander folds. Alexander's friends are wary of Arias, which is why she does everything she can to keep his old friends away.

However, realizing that Alexander will only marry a fellow Mormon, Jodi decides to convert.

She springs the news on Alexander when they are both in the pool, and follows up by diving underwater to perform oral sex on him.

Soon enough, Arias overplays her hand by texting replies to messages Alexander gets from other women, and making a point of flaunting the true nature of their relationship in front of his Mormon friends.

When Alexander ends the affair, Arias is one boiled bunny away from "Fatal Attraction."

Alexander at first seems to kick some of his religious beliefs to the curb too quickly for credibility, but we can almost accept the power of lust in this case.

What we can't accept in the film is why, after realizing Arias is a psycho stalker, he gives in to lust a second time? In real life, we know it happened, but the film's script, by Richard Blaney and Gregory Small, doesn't make us believe it at all.

The screenwriters and director Jace Alexander are wise to focus almost exclusively on the relationship and only briefly on the Arias trial, again, because of HLN's over-coverage of the trial.

For Arias addicts, "Dirty Little Secret" is likely to be only a momentary fix.

But not to worry: The jury might have found her guilty of killing Alexander, but deadlocked on what her punishment should be.

That means there will be a whole new trial on the penalty phase of the case alone, and you can bet Nancy Grace is sharpening her nails and whitening her teeth.